Iceland first took part in the Eurovision 1986 in Bergen. Over the past years the country has proven that there is far more musical potential in Iceland than Bjoerk. Iceland has a lively music scene and participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is followed with great interest. The Icelandic contributions have been a bit weird and strange one year, a bit boring another. Still unforgettable are stage appearances with songs like "Sjubidu" sung by Anna Mjoell (Oslo 1996) and "Minn hinisti dans" sung and performed by Paul Oscar in Dublin 1997… remember the sofa and the black fetish outfits? Luckily Birgitta came 9th in Riga with her song "Open Your Heart" and for that reason Iceland automatically qualified for the final on Saturday May 15th.

This year the Icelandic TV-station RÚV did without a national final - the singer Jón Jósep Snjaebjörnsson was chosen internally to represent the country. The handsome singer - also known as Jónsi - became popular with the band Í Svörtum Fötum. Today they are one of Iceland's most successful bands. The song "Heaven" had already been submitted for the national final the previous year but composer Sveinn Rúnar Sigurässon had missed the deadline. It is a fantastic ballad which for sure will be played by many radio stations all over the world - as will the video clip be shown at MTV and VIVA for it is very well produced and proves one more time how much class there is to be found at the Eurovision Song Contest these days. Good luck, Jónsi!